Spaghetti Sauce

Throughout my life spaghetti has always been one of my favorite meals. In fact, as time continues to pass, it has become more than just food for me. It has turned into the warmth of sitting around a table together eagerly watching the butter melt over the sauce and laughter, from a time when I was still learning to know things, it has shifted into the memories that people so often forget. We would eat spaghetti at least once a month when most of my family still lived with my grandparents. My grandma would start making the sauce, which is the most important part, very early in the morning to ensure that there would be time to incorporate the correct amount of spices. The whole house would smell like that sauce by the end of the day and as my siblings and I got older it became one of the most coveted recipes as we began to leave home.

My grandmothers family was from Italy; her grandmother and grandfather came to United States shortly before Word War Two in an effort to avoid many of the things that were happening in their part of the world. Not everyone is aware, but many know that people from other places did not always receive a warm welcome here and as such, many traditions were dropped by my great-great grandparents in an effort to keep themselves and their children more protected. In fact, I am the only one in my family now who knows how to speak even a little Italian. Though many traditions were lost, cooking is one that has been kept alive by the women of my family. The one recipe especially, that has continued to bring my family together is my great-great grandmothers spaghetti sauce.

Unsurprising for an Italian family of that time, my great-great grandparents had seven children after making the journey to America and they faced many hardships normal for that time in our history. Despite those struggles, five of those children survived to adulthood. Luckily, one of those five children ended up being my great grandmother who learned to cook from her mother, and who then passed this knowledge down to my grandma. Some time had passed before my grandma herself learned to make the magic spaghetti sauce that is so loved by many. She was about twenty years old the first time she made it without help. At that time, her and my grandfather had recently been married and they had moved to Alabama where my grandpa would learn to be a helicopter pilot for the Army.

My grandmother had been craving the spaghetti and sauce that her mom had made for her throughout so much of her life. She longed for the taste of home and memories. So, she called her mom (my great grandmother) and asked her for the recipe. My great grandmother was happy to pass it along for my grandma to try on her own and later sent this recipe in a letter. My grandma quickly realized that this recipe came with its own challenges. Being rather poor my great-great grandparents did not have cups or spoons to provide exact measurements, so my great grandmother did not use these tools either. This treasured recipe was written with pinches, dashes, and handfuls which can vary with hand sizes.

Nonetheless, my grandma persevered and was soon able to bring this recipe to mouths of her daughters and eventually her grandchildren. Now that I have moved away, my grandma has passed this recipe down to me. Rather than in a written letter, I received this recipe through a phone call; a testament to the way time and technology continue to progress. Despite that progression, there is still no better spaghetti sauce than the one from home and I am very lucky to be able to share in that. This spaghetti sauce will forever be a taste of home for many in my family and passing it on is a way to keep a hard won tradition alive in a world that has fought to snuff out the light of our differences. If you are of age, be sure to enjoy with a glass of red wine and always have a few slices of garlic bread handy to mop up any excess sauce from your plate!

Grandmas Spaghetti

(Great-Great Grandmas for me)

Ingredients:

1-28oz. can of tomato puree

2-12 oz. cans of tomato paste

1-14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1-15 oz. can of tomato sauce

1-2 lbs. of Italian Sausage (depends on how you like it)

Parsley

Basil

Onion Powder

Granulated Garlic

Italian Seasoning

Oregano Leaves

Bay Leaf

Grated Romano Cheese

Salt

Pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook sausage fully and drain fat.

2. Pour tomato puree, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and cooked sausage into a pot and stir together.

3. Place on stove top and set to low.

4. Line up parsley, basil, onion powder, garlic, Italian seasoning, oregano leaves, bay leaf, and cheese then form a cup with your hand.

5. Fill your hand evenly with each of these ingredients then stir them into the base.

6. Taste your sauce then add extras to taste.

7. Add roughly 20 shakes of salt and 10 grinds of pepper.

8. Stir constantly until boiling.

9. Turn to low and simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring consistently.

10. Taste again and add more spices as necessary.

11. Buon appetito! Enjoy!